Almost champions

May 18, 2005 - Nineteen high school teams from the Northwest and
Foothills area entered the state spring sports playoffs held from
May 6 though May 14 in Tucson and Phoenix, with two winning
championships-the Canyon Del Oro girl's softball team (see story
page 1) and the girl's track and field squad from Catalina
Foothills (page 53) - and three finishing as runnersup. CDO boy's
volleyball, Catalina Foothills baseball and Pusch Ridge softball,
finished the year as state runners-up in their respective
conferences.

Volleyball

With Canyon Del Oro's boys volleyball team trailing 13-22 in the
third game of the Class 4A/5A state championship match against
Gilbert Highland at Brophy High School in Phoenix, the look on
David Hallowell's anguished face was enough to surmise the
desperation and reality washing over the senior's team.

The Hitmen's magically dominant season was unraveling at its
seams.

Gilbert Highland (25-3) was able to hold off CDO, despite a late
surge by the Hitmen and Hallowell, winning in three games 25-15,
20-25, 25-18. At 40-3 overall on the year, CDO finishes as the
state runner up.

Considered the most dominating and dynamic volleyball team in
the state this year, CDO ran into a tough Gilbert Highland squad
determined to defend its 4A/5A title from last season.

"We gave it everything we had," said senior Tim McGann. "They
(Highland) played a great game, they deserved to win."

After dropping the first game versus Highland, CDO won a seesaw
second game that featured six lead changes and 12 ties, the latest
coming at 20-20. The Hitmen went on to win the next five points and
the game 25-20, its biggest margin of the game.

Highland jumped on CDO early in the third game and won going
away 25-18, not once giving up the lead. Facing match point at
16-24, Hallowell stepped up with two thunderous slams to spark a
little life into the Dorados. It was too little, too late as
Highland finished the game shortly thereafter.

The Hitmen struggled with their serves in the championship game,
uncharacteristically sending balls long or into the net.

For the three games, Hallowell tied teammates Jon Watson and
Matt Watson in kills, with each senior registering eight. Setter
Steven Madsen added 33 assists and McGann and Curtis Jacques each
contributed a match high 12 digs.

Entering the title game against Highland, CDO - the 5A Southern
Region Champion and the state tournament's No. 1 seed - had sailed
through the state playoffs with relative ease. The Hitmen didn't
lose a game in wins over Cienega (25-19, 25-7), Gilbert (25-20,
25-22) and Mesa Mountain View (25-18, 25-22).

"Our kids played with character and heart," said head CDO coach
Patrick McDonald.

For the coach, who has been with the program since its inception
in 1990, the loss to Highland may have been his last.

"After coaching these kids, I don't think I could ever coach
another team again," said McDonald who will step down as skipper of
the Hitmen.

CDO entered the state playoffs ranked No.1 in the state,
dominating every main tournament of the season winning the Hitman,
Brophy and McClintock invitationals in convincing fashion.

"This is more than I could ever have imagined as a team," said
Hallowell after the grueling loss, referring to his teammates as
his brothers.

The Hitmen will look to reload next season, but they'll do so
without the services of Hallowell, McGann and eight other seniors
including Madsen, the team's player of the year front-runner.

"Our non-starters have been working hard to be ready for next
season," said McDonald.

As for this year, the Dorados are left to sift through the
rubble of a bitter defeat that will forever mar a nearly
unblemished season.

Baseball

A Class 4A State title will elude Catalina Foothills' baseball
team for at least one more year.

For the second time in as many years, and third time in the last
four, Foothills' (33-3) title hopes came to a crashing halt in the
state title game. This year the Falcons fell to Chaparral, 10-0 in
a six-inning mercy rule game May 14 at Phoenix Municipal
Stadium.

Foothills' pitcher John James (10-2) was effective against the
Firebirds allowing just five hits in four-plus innings of work.
Unfortunately for the UA-bound hurler, Chaparral made its hits
count, scoring four times to eventually chase him from the
mound.

Junior Joe Rohe (7-0) didn't fare much better against the
Firebird lineup, which featured Austin Yount, the nephew of
baseball hall-of-famer Robin Yount.

"We're definitely disappointed. We work real hard," said
Foothills assistant coach J.J. Northam, "and when we don't get that
reward, it's a tough lesson."

For Chaparral, the championship was the program's fifth in seven
years and third in a row.

Despite falling in the championship game, Foothills enjoyed a
banner year in 2005.

While James and a deep pitching staff often get credit for much
of its success, the Falcons' offense may be among the best the
school has ever put on a baseball diamond.

The Falcons set program records for hits, runs, doubles, RBI
and, most importantly, wins. As a team, they batted .360 and
averaged 10 runs per game.

With a pitching staff yielding three runs a game, wins were
plentiful.

James led the Falcons with his arm and his bat. The senior set
the school mark for doubles in a season with 19. Teammate Jimmy
Dever also set the Falcons' all-time record for RBI in a year with
58. As a team, Foothills registered more than 300 RBI in 36
games.

Even though they will lose 13 seniors from this year's roster,
Northam believes the Falcons will reload and once again be a force
to be reckoned with next year when pitchers Rohe and
sophomore-to-be Kayvon Bahramzadeh will return. Bahramzadeh (4-1)
was a major contributor in the Falcons' rotation as a freshman.

"He pitched some big games for us that a typical freshman would
not have been in there," said Northam of Bahramzadeh's performance
in clutch situations. "He proved he could handle it early in the
year."

Softball

There's an old proverb says that when one door is closed,
another is opened.

Such was the case this season for the Pusch Ridge Christian
Academy's girl's softball squad, who advanced to extra innings of
the Class 2A state title game before having its Cinderella season
halted, May 13 at Alberta B. Farrington Stadium on the campus of
Arizona State University.

The Lions (24-8) were nipped 1-0 by a formidable Scottsdale
Christian Academy squad, a team they beat 7-1 earlier in the
year.

"We played our best," said Pusch Ridge centerfielder Reagan
Sutton, who won a state title in the winter on the PRCA girl's
basketball team.

In what can be described as a defensive struggle more than an
offensive drought, Pusch Ridge hung tough with the Eagles for seven
innings before yielding a game-winning bases-loaded infield single
to Scottsdale centerfielder Dani Lougheed.

On April 7, in a game against Baboquivari, any early season
momentum the Lions had accrued seemed to be in jeopardy when
sophomore Katlyn Freeland injured her little finger on her left
hand attempting a hook slide into second base.

Freeland, the team's starting shortstop and leadoff hitter, was
a team leader and a catalyst for the Lions offense. Before her
season came to an abrupt close, she was leading the team in
fielding, batting average, hits, stolen bases and, as the team's
web site puts it, hustle.

With surgery knocking Freeland out for the remainder of the
season, the Lions rallied and stormed to a second place finish in
the 2A South region tournament.

"I'm extremely proud of them," said Lion head coach Larry
Barfield, "especially after Katlyn got hurt it would have been easy
to fold."

The Lions set a Pusch Ridge school record with 24 wins this
year, eclipsing the old mark of 19 set in 2002. When the school was
in the Class 1A and known as Palo Verde Christian Academy it won
the state title in 1997 with 30 wins.

A big key to the Lions' success this season was the pitching of
Shawna Bleyl. As a freshman, Bleyl went 21-6 with a miniscule ERA
of 0.45, holding opponents to a .123 batting average. She also
accounted for 218 of the team's 232 strikeouts.

Behind any standout freshman is a veteran catcher and Pusch
Ridge has one of the better all-around backstops in Southern
Arizona in Krista Bour. Bour anchored the infield with a .989
fielding percentage, but her intangibles extend more than her bat
or glove work.

Barfield said that Bour's leadership is just as important as her
offense and defense.

"It's like having another coach out there on the field," he
said.

Other teams in the playoffs included: CDO baseball; Marana,
Mountain View and Ironwood Ridge Volleyball; and IRHS and Foothills
softball. All of those teams lost in the first or second round
except Ironwood Ridge softball, which lost in the semifinals.
Members of boys and girls track squads from CDO, Foothills, IRHS,
Marana and Mountain View participated in split state finals held
May 11 through 13.